PORTABLE A/C UNIT Pro & con - Montana Owners Club

johnpjpa · 07-22-2011, 03:01 PM

Portable A/C unit ? OZZ : I am waiting for your input .

I own a 2010 Montana 3400 RL with one A/C unit , we usually don,t Camp in extreme hot weather

We are not full timers but will spent September in San Diego and November to march in south Texas

We will probably need the extra cooling at some point .

I was thinking about using the right front closet in the Bedroom ,make a hole in the floor for the evac hose

and another hole in the generator compartment

I could use the portable unit in our house when the grand kids come to visit for one of the upstairs bedroom

(we have all the vents shut off upstairs and use only our main floor of 1500 sq feet big enough for the two of us end the dog )

I don,t see the need to install a roof unit for our type of use

What is your opinion . Does anyone have a portable unit in your RV what size would you recommend , Isee them from 8000 to 13000 BTU

Thanks John

johnpjpa · 07-22-2011, 03:23 PM

Oops .. Just looked at the frt of Montana and realized the bedroom closet is not even close to be on top of the generator
compartment i guess i will have to go to plan B and connect evac hose to escape window

indy roadrunner · 07-23-2011, 02:50 AM

John, while we are waiting for Ozz to get back from his bike ride, I am off down here in Florida with an 06 model and had some of the same thoughts. We have found that by closing the door to bedroom and utilizing the dump feature on the A/C in the main living area we can keep it somewhat comfortable in main living area, we also keep day/night shades closed on sun side. Along about 5:00 in the evening we open door to bedroom and shut off the dump feature to put air back into bedroom and by the time we go to bed it is cooler up there. I considered the closet just inside the door thinking I could put a dryer vent on the outside wall to hook evac hose to, but after we discovered the bedroom door trick decided we didn't need extra A/C.

SlickWillie · 07-23-2011, 06:40 AM

Wife's employer (hotel) has a couple of these units. I've had to help set them up, and keep the pan evaporator pan drained. You have to have a place for the hot condenser air (approx. 4" hose) to exit the RV. Problem I have seen is the evaporator pan is right on the floor and is a booger bear to drain. Don't believe that stuff about them not needing drained either. They will shut down on high water level if not drained. I have threatened to build a stand to set them on, just where I could get something under the drain to catch the water. Another problem I have seen is that in very high humidity, the unit will sweat profusely around the cooling vents, resulting in very wet carpet.

I know one of the units is a 10,000 BTU DeLongi, and it does a very good job of cooling. It's your choice, but I would spring for the roof mounted unit.

johnpjpa · 07-23-2011, 06:42 AM

Thanks Indy for the info : it,s presently 102 degrees in topeka and iam
going to open the slides on the rv parked in driveway and give your suggestion a try
i already have all the vents pluged with insulation foam covers and also the shower skylight
it will probably take a few hours to cool the living area down due to high outside temp and full sunshine on the
fifth wheel

Clemson1881 · 07-23-2011, 07:58 AM

Two roof A/Cs can even struggle in very hot conditions. Especially if they are not BOTH ducted. In high humidity you really could use three at times. We saw some three A/C fifth wheels at the beach this year. One A/C is run on its own 20 amp power source in this set up. 95% of the time two will cut it though. Although I told the wife a third may be added in the future.

Ozz · 07-23-2011, 08:00 AM

Hi, it should work.
If it were me, I would just spring for an extra RTU, after the install work, you wouldn't have to fiddle with anything, it would work better and not take up any extra space. Go 15K if you do.
Consider the additional vents like I put in.

mazboy · 07-23-2011, 08:03 AM

just food for thought....where you'll be from september on I would not expect it to get really hot....probably more cool if anything in the later months. we were in the mcallen, brownsville area a couple of years ago and the radio was were warning people not to go out because it was so cold.....it was in the high 30s...ummmmmm.

Trailer Trash 2 · 07-23-2011, 09:32 AM

John I saw this portable type at Home Depot 9000 btu's it wont overload your trailer sercit.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

TLightning · 07-23-2011, 11:10 AM

A few years ago, I bit the bullet and got a regular front A/C...very good decision...at least for us.

johnpjpa · 07-23-2011, 11:22 AM

Well ,I am going to buy a portable unit and give it a try ,and if it does not work well enough
I will take Ozz advice and spring for a 15000 K unit with the extra vents
I will be staying in Rockport Texas in November, and go to the Montana dealer (Camper Clinic)
About half a mile from the campground for some warranty work and maybe have him install
The extra air unit (? what should aprox. be the installed cost of a 15k a/c unit)
I can use the portable unit in our house upstairs ,so it wont be a waste of money .
Thanks to all of you for your input .
BTW , I told one of my friends who just purchased a motor home about all the info our forum
Provides , and he was going to check it out .
I hope he decides to join us

Ozz · 07-23-2011, 11:40 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by johnpjpa

Well ,I am going to buy a portable unit and give it a try ,and if it does not work well enough
I will take Ozz advice and spring for a 15000 K unit with the extra vents
I will be staying in Rockport Texas in November, and go to the Montana dealer (Camper Clinic)
About half a mile from the campground for some warranty work and maybe have him install
The extra air unit (? what should aprox. be the installed cost of a 15k a/c unit)
I can use the portable unit in our house upstairs ,so it wont be a waste of money .
Thanks to all of you for your input .
BTW , I told one of my friends who just purchased a motor home about all the info our forum
Provides , and he was going to check it out .
I hope he decides to join us

johnpjpa · 07-23-2011, 12:42 PM

How did my old camper and truck get on the forum?
i would like to post new rig and truck on my post if i new how
help welcome

johnpjpa · 07-23-2011, 01:53 PM

Wow i figured it out

Ozz · 07-23-2011, 02:03 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by johnpjpa

How did my old camper and truck get on the forum?
i would like to post new rig and truck on my post if i new how
help welcome

I did it to help you.
Glad you figured it out

johnpjpa · 07-23-2011, 04:11 PM

Well thank you Ozz , for making my brain work hard in this 100 degrees + weather
You see, my genius grand daughter was not here to show me how to do it , she is the
one who posted the old rig and did show me how to do it at the time ( but i did not remember )
i found the home page instruction on how to post pictures !! DUH
Good thing that none of my old customers are on this forum that i no of
because i was the first one to always tell them ( LOOK IN YOUR OWNER MANUAL READ THE INSTRUCTION IT IS IN THERE)
GEEZ !! Karma does exist

Ozz · 07-23-2011, 04:24 PM

You are doing fine.

HOOK · 07-23-2011, 07:11 PM

We had the 2nd unit added at purchase of our Monty. Recently we have had some very hot weather here in NC. We are able to park and by the time we set up in the heat of the day we are very comfortable. Both A/Cs are ducted with zoning on thermostat. We open dump doors for maybe 30 minutes and turn on fantastic fan then return to normal operation. I chose the 15000 for our 2nd unit. Larry

SlickWillie · 07-24-2011, 03:16 AM

I'd like to send you elsewhere than Camper Clinic, but geez, I don't know who to recommend. Ron Hoover's used to sell some Keystone lines, but not sure they do so any more. Not sure they're any better either. I'd sure shop around for that second unit tho. My friend and neighbor here was in sales for CC, and ain't got much good to say about their operation here. I've heard the one up in Buda, TX is somewhat better.

Anyway, let me say "welcome to Rockport-Fulton, the charm of the Texas coast". We love it here. Always something going on; always great food to eat!

johnpjpa · 07-24-2011, 02:07 PM

I just found out that there is a used RV dealer that is authorized to do warranty work ( after ok from Keystone by phone) about 2 miles from my house.
This used to be a new RV dealership but could no longer keep new inventory in stock due to local economy .
i no the owner personally and will have them do my repairs .
Thank you for you welcome to Rockport, we wil be staying at Ancien oak probably if they have room for us
I have not made reservation yet due to the next trip to San Diego in september .
I will call them monday to check if there is some space left for us ,we stayed there last December and like it (Nice people all around)
and yes best shrimp on the planet !! Hope to meet you there in November

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